3 Law Firms Touted For Bond Work

January 8, 1985|By Carl Hulse, Staff Writer

Three Florida law firms are in line for a share of Broward County`s lucrative bond business, but a partnership that includes former Gov. Reubin Askew is not a finalist despite intense lobbying by the unsuccessful presidential contender.

Under pressure from county commissioners to find local bond counsel, County Attorney Sue Delegal announced Monday her choices for experts that will join a Wall Street firm in advising the county regularly on complex financial matters.

The firms are Holland and Knight, a statewide firm with offices in Fort Lauderdale; Livermore, Klein and Lott, a Jacksonville partnership that specializes almost exclusively in bond law; and Sparber, Shevin, Shapo and Heilbronner of Dade County.

Delegal today will ask county commissioners to ratify her choices, selected from among 21 applicants, eight of which were interviewed.

Delegal said she initially will use the firms on a rotating basis to handle industrial revenue bond issues. The county could process up to $75 million in bonds to aid private industry this year.

``I plan to evaluate the workload of each of the selected firms and the capabilities peculiar to each firm, then assign a firm to a specific bond issue,`` Delegal wrote in a report to the commission.

Most prominent among the firms not selected was Greenberg, Traurig, Askew, Hoffman, Lipoff and Quentel of Miami.

Askew, who could not be reached for comment, embarked on a campaign for the bond work, lunching and meeting privately with county commissioners. That campaign followed a failed drive last year for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Though the commission can accept or reject Delegal`s recommendations, the county attorney has the power to name the firms that provide the county with specilized advice.

Two commissioners, Scott Cowan and Nicki Grossman, said they would accept Delegal`s recommendations.

``I am very satisfied that at least we are moving toward local bond counsel,`` said Grossman. ``That was the impetus of the commission, to bring the money back home.``

The money the firms can earn on bond deals is substantial. The county`s present bond counsel -- Brown, Wood, Ivy, Mitchell and Petty -- was paid $324,000 for the advice it provided on the county`s sale of $259 million in airport improvement bonds.

Delegal said Brown, Wood will remain as counsel on the county`s $521 million garbage incinerator bond issue and rotate with the three other firms on future bond sales.